Mad as a March Hare
by tsukiryoushi
Summary: Based on SyFy's "Alice." Mad March returns and kidnaps Alice, hoping to lure Hatter into a trap. While captive, Alice learns just why March hates him so much, as well as a few things she wished she'd never learned... Rated for language and violence.


My first fanfic for SyFy's "Alice!" ^ ^ A rather dark one, though... But I wanted to explore Mad March's character, especially why he seemed to hate Hatter so much...

(I don't own anything!)

As Alice awoke she became aware of a dull ache behind her eyes, and when she tried to open them she had to squeeze them shut again to block out the bright light shining right in her face. When she tried to move she realized her hands had been tied behind her back and her ankles tied together. She opened one eye slowly, squinting against the light, and tried to look around and see where she was, but the best she could tell was that she was in some run-down warehouse, tied to an old metal folding chair.  
She grunted as she struggled against her bonds, cursing herself for not being more careful. The last thing she remembered was walking to her car when she was grabbed from behind. Before she could attack her assailant, a sweet-smelling cloth was placed over her mouth and nose and she lost consciousness. Funny… before that day Alice thought the old chloroform-rag trick was something you only saw in the movies. She knew better now.  
But there would be time to reflect on her lesson later. Right now she focused on struggling against the old rope that was now tightly bound around her wrists and ankles.  
"You ain't gonna break free," she heard a voice say. A familiar, mechanical voice and an accent she would know anywhere. She turned to see a silhouette step forward in the light, and instantly recognized the rabbit-head on top of its shoulders, though once her eyes adjusted a bit she could see quite a few cracks, like a coffee mug that was broken and glued back together. "I wanted to be sure you couldn't use them fancy moves of yours," Mad March told her, his neck twitching a bit in that odd, robotic way as he grabbed another chair, turning it backwards and straddling it. He rested his hands on the back of the chair as he stared at her.  
"How did you get here?" Alice asked, trying her hardest to stay calm. "Hatter said you were dead…"  
"Did he, now?" March let out a soft laugh. "Hatter'd never have the guts to off me. He never used to be so squeamish… but I guess time changes things, huh?"  
"What are you talking about?" Alice demanded. "And what do you want with me? The Queen's been beaten, there's no reason for you to--" March cut her off with another laugh.  
"You honestly think I give a damn about that bitch? I couldn't care less. She was just another paycheck to me, doll. But this ain't a business venture. It's revenge, pure and simple."  
"Against me?"  
March's neck twitched again before he slowly shook his head. "hatter."  
"Hatter?" Alice's heart sank as the realization hit her. March could have killed her at any time, and probably still would. But he wanted to use her to lure Hatter into a trap. "If you think I'm going to let you hurt him…"  
"Oh, shut up and save the speeches, wouldja? Besides, you don't gotta worry about seeing your boyfriend hurt. No, I'm gonna make him watch while I have some… _fun_ wit you, first… then I'll kill you in front of him."  
Alice frowned at the psychotic assassin. "All this… just because of a few cracks in that stupid rabbit head? Seems like overkill to me."  
Suddenly, quick as lightning, March was on his feet, kicking away his chair to charge at Alice and grab her by the throat. He laughed as he watched her choke and gasp. "Overkill? Lady, I'd kill you for the lint in your pocket. I just like to kill, that's all. But Hatter and me? We got history." March finally let go of her throat, turning away as she coughed and gasped for air.  
Alice took a few deep breaths, fighting back the tears in her eyes as she glared at Mad March again. "What… history…"  
March turned to face her again. Somehow, despite his emotionless rabbit face, he seemed surprised. "Wait… so Hatter never told you…?"  
"Told me what…?"  
March was silent for a few moments, almost as if lost in thought. "This could be more fun than I thought," he mused to himself as he set his chair upright again, taking a seat opposite his captive. "Hatter and me… we used to be pals. Partners in crime, you could say. Those were the good old days. We were crooks for hire, the two of us. We were known as the Mad brothers. I'm guessing he never mentioned his full name was IMad/I Hatter, right?" March paused a moment to drink in the confused look on the girl's face. "Mad Hatter and Mad March… the things we did in those days, sweet-cheeks… stealing, cheating folks… oh and killing. We did a _lot_ of killing. Hatter always took it so seriously, though, never stopped to really enjoy himself like I did. No, with him it was just a job. But damn, was he good at it."  
Alice shook her head fiercly. "No… Hatter's done a lot of things, but he's not a killer!"  
"No? You've known him what? A couple months? And hey, it's not like anybody with a bad past has ever kept that from someone. Not like anyone's ever _lied_ before."  
Alice had no response to that. She lowered her head and closed her eyes. She knew full well how easy it was for people to lie to her. Her mother had lied at first, when her father left, saying he would be back soon. So many men had lied to her over the years, not the least of which being Jack. But Hatter… was it possible he had kept such terrible secrets?  
"Wanna know the last job we pulled together?" Alice didn't even look up at March, but he continued anyway. "We used to work with an old man. We called him 'Mouse.' Mouse, you could say, was the head of our organization. He'd find us jobs, keep track of our fees, whatever. But the Queen started to take interest in our work. She wanted us to be her private assassins. Of course, that wasn't a job we were about ready to turn down. But there was just one problem." Here March leaned back in the chair. "God, I'd kill for a cigarette right now… For all the good this new noggin your dad made for me is, he forgot to give me a way to smoke." Finally, Alice lifted her head to frown at him. "Heh, had a feeling that'd strike a chord. Anyway, the queen wanted Hatter and me, but not Mouse. But he wasn't about to let us leave him in the dust, so he threatened to reveal some of our… least legal escapades, even if it got all three of us on the chopping block."  
Alice frowned again. "So you killed your own friend…"  
March nodded. "Why not? Old Mouse woulda done the same. Hatter, I guess, didn't take kindly to my decision, and turned the queen down. I went on to work alone, till I found out my old pal was helping the resistance. I decided to pay my 'mad brother' a visit, and let him know I'd keep his little escapades a secret… for a fee."  
Alice smiled cruelly. "But Hatter revealed your secrets first, and the queen didn't like what she heard."  
"Don't be a smartass." March paused a moment. "But yeah. The old cow got an anonymous letter, with a list of some of the things I was doing behind her back. Before I can get out another word--chop-chop, off came my head. Dying ain't a pleasant thing, let me tell you, and your dad sticking this friggin' cookie jar on my body didn't make comin' back any better."  
March stood up, pushing his chair aside. "Well, now that story time is over," he said, "I'm gonna go keep an eye out for our buddy Hatter. If he follows the directions I left in that letter I slipped under your door he should be here soon. Don't worry your pretty little head over it, either, toots. I'll let you say your goodbyes once he gets here."  
Without another word, Mad March left, turning off the light before he walked through the door, leaving Alice in the dark.  
Alice knew she had to act, and act fast. As her eyes adjusted to the dark she looked around, trying to find anything that could help her. She spotted an old beer bottle laying on the ground a little ways off and began to hatch her plan. Slowly, and with a little effort, she managed to scoot the chair toward the bottle, cringing each time the metal feet of the chair scraped loudly against the concrete. Finally, she was right next to the bottle, but she couldn't reach it. Only one thing she could do, then…  
Turning to the door briefly to make sure Mad March wasn't coming back yet, she began to rock back and forth, getting the chair to wobble before finally falling over. "Ow…" she moaned. Hitting the ground like that hurt a lot more than she expected. But at least now she could reach the bottle if she stretched her fingers out. Grabbing the neck of the bottle, she hit it against the concrete, pausing a moment when it finally broke with her breath held. When Mad March still didn't come in, she quickly turned the broken glass in her hands toward the ropes. She managed to give herself a fair share of cuts and scratches, but finally she managed to cut the rope and free her arms. Moving quickly she untied her ankles and moved to the door. But it was locked.  
"Damn it…" Alice hissed softly. She looked around again and when she found the light switch another idea hit her. Grabbing the metal chair she flipped the switch and rushed to stand beside the door, praying Mad March could see the light.  
Her prayers were answered, as March, having seen the light, quickly came to investigate, gun in hand. "Hatter, that you?" he asked, almost casually as he stepped through the door.  
Alice didn't hesitate. The second that rabbit-head of his was in the door she brought the chair down on it, hearing a satisfying crack as half the false face broke off and the assassin fell to the ground. Alice jumped him, straddling him as she grabbed the gun from his hand and pointed it at him. She had to gasp, though, when she saw the odd collection of wires and gadgets now exposed inside his head.  
"Your old man did good work," Mad March told her, as casually as if they were old friends walking down the street. "Too bad he couldn't finish rebuilding my head, but hey, that's life. So whatcha gonna do now, toots?"  
"Don't call me toots!" Alice shouted, pointing the gun at his mechanical head. She was surprised to feel his hand grab her arm, but even more surprised when he guided her aim downward toward his chest.  
"If you wanna kill me, babe, aim for the heart. I lost my head already, remember?" When Alice gave him a confused look, March laughed again, though his voice skipped like a broken CD player. "Like I said, Hatter didn't have the guts to finish me off… I wanna see if you've got more balls than he does. I can see why he likes ya… cute face… nice body… you don't take crap from anyone. But he was always a sucker for the innocent type… think he'll still like you so much if you're just as much a killer as he is?"  
"You're toying with me…" Alice growled.  
"It's just my nature, Alice."  
"You're insane."  
"Criminally. It's why I'm called Mad March… I'm mad as a march hare. Now come on, you gonna pull the trigger or not?" Alice hesitated, a troubled look on her face. "I shoulda known. You're just too pretty to be a killer." In a flash, March's hands were wrapped around Alice's throat. "Good thing I'm ugly as sin!"  
Alice gasped for air as his hands squeezed her windpipe shut. She struggled frantically for breath, but she couldn't get any air. Her vision blurred, and she became truly afraid. Desperate, frightened, but most of all angry, Alice did the only thing she could and pulled the trigger, the loud shot making her ears ring as March's hands fell limply from her throat.  
Alice fell over gasping, throwing the gun aside to rub her bruised throat. She turned to the lifeless body next to her, the only sounds emanating from it now the soft mechanical clicks of the devices in his neck, which twitched slightly even as the rest of his body lay dead and bleeding on the ground.  
She continued to lay there, staring at the body of Mad March for several minutes before she heard a familiar voice call her name. "Alice! Alice!"  
Alice turned toward Hatter's voice, wanting to call out "I'm here!" but her throat was just too sore. Finally, however, hatter found the door and rushed in, kneeling down to take her in his arms. She gladly held onto his coat, burying her face in his chest as she finally let the tears fall.  
Hatter just held her tight, thankful she was alive, but his gaze soon fell on March's body. "What happened…?" he asked, an almost sad note in his voice.  
Alice only briefly turned to look at the body before hiding her face in Hatter's shirt again. When she didn't say anything he just stroked her hair gently. He could guess what March had kidnapped her for, and it made his skin crawl. Carefully, Hatter picked the exhausted girl up in his arms. "Come on," he told her. "Let's go home…"

It wasn't until the next day Alice managed to speak again, her throat still sore and bruised. Hatter had taken her straight home to her apartment, quickly bandaging her cuts and bruises. The next day she and Hatter were surprised when Jack stopped by.  
March, Jack explained, had been on the run ever since the queen was overthrown, and had recently snuck through the looking glass while some of the remaining Oysters were being sent home. Jack speculated he had spent several days before then planning the entire thing. "I'm so sorry we couldn't find him before… all this…" Jack told her.  
Hatter frowned, about to say something, but Alice stopped him. "It's not your fault," she whispered, her voice still weak.  
Jack nodded his head. "Still… we should have done more. I just thank heaven you're safe now, Alice."  
"No thanks to you…" Hatter muttered, but Alice gave him a look that made him go quiet again.  
"What happened… to his body…?" Alice finally asked.  
Jack hesitated a moment. "We took his body back to wonderland this morning. Thankfully no one saw or heard anything, we don't have to worry about anyone asking questions."  
Alice nodded, though she, and the two men looking at her knew it was no consolation at all.  
Once he was sure she was alright, and after more than a few "subtle" hints from Hatter to scram, Jack bade them goodbye and left. Hatter closed the door behind him, locking it when Alice asked him to. She hated herself for it, but she was still scared.  
"You're sure you're alright…?" Hatter asked as he sat next to her on the sofa, letting her lean against him.  
Alice nodded her head, closing her eyes as she buried her face in his chest and breathing in his familiar scent, desperate for the sense of security it gave her. "I'll be alright," she told him. She hated feeling so weak, but she hated even more the thought that she looked weak to others. The way Hatter and Jack both fawned over her, as if he were made of glass… she was just thankful Charlie wasn't there, too. She hated being treated like a damsel in distress, no matter how distressed she was feeling.  
Hatter understood her feelings without having to ask. He loved her for her strength, her fearlessness. But he also knew no one could go through what she went through unscarred. Especially considering Mad March was involved. He knew March well enough to know he took pride in his work…  
Hatter had to wonder, though… did he tell Alice anything? He couldn't help but notice how she kept from looking him in the eye ever since he found her. "Alice…" she looked up at him, and the sad look on her face almost stopped him from continuing. "There are thing about me… things I never told you…"  
Alice shushed him gently. "I know…" she said. "And we're going to talk about it… just not now." She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.  
Hatter nodded in understanding. He knew he had kept too much from her, and vowed to make up for it. But for now, Alice didn't need to hear it. She just needed him to be there for her.  
Safe in Hatter's arms, Alice sighed softly and let herself drift off to sleep. She knew her rest wouldn't be long, though. It was only a matter of time now before she woke up in a cold sweat screaming, the awful mechanical ticking and whirring of Mad March's neck echoing in her ears.


End file.
